June 21 was National Aboriginal Day in Canada. I wanted to post on June 21 but a number of other posts got in the way. June 21 st was summer solstice. I had written a post about Brenda's blog and wanted that to be out. So here it is , better late than never, National Aboriginal Day.
National Aboriginal Day is meant to celebrate Aboriginal culture. For a culture to survive it has to be practiced, appreciated and grow. That can be done when people get together and show off aspects of culture.
I hope that sometime this year you will take some time to look at some aboriginal art. There's much to choose from. I particularly like bead work. Bead work was done long before the white man came and cheated aboriginals out of their furs for a few beads. They used cut up porcupine quills. Many aboriginals are fantastic artists using modern media. One of my favorite painters is Allen Sapp. Take a good look at some of his work.
I hope you will take time to look at some aboriginal Dance. With colorful costumes and movement it becomes a ballet.
I hope you will take some time and listen to aboriginal music. They had many songs that told stories. Each person had songs for various occasions. Drums were used to emphasize parts of the song. None of the original songs were written down . They were passed on orally. Today , many of those songs have been written down and will become permanent. Songs are still being made today and fortunately by young people. Many aboriginals have been able to do well in modern music. I particularly like Kashtin
I hope you will listen to the aboriginal language. We still have areas where Cree is mainly spoken. Now young people are trying to learn Cree and keep the language active and living.
We all must celebrate National Aboriginal Day. We learn something. Aboriginals gain some self confidence so that they can proud of their culture.
